Born, like other comic book characters, out of an otherwise trivial but life-changing animal bite, the Rabid Librarian seeks out strange, useless facts, raves about real and perceived injustices, and seeks to meet her greatest challenge of all--her own life.

Unshelved

by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum

Friday, August 31, 2012

10 minutes, 2.8 miles, 15 miles an hour, after adjusting the seat and handlebars in such a way that my back and knees didn't hurt like they did before. My butt though, well, I'll have to get used to it. The plan is to get on it every other day (except Sundays), so Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, adding 5 mins per day. On Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, the plan is to start the day out with yoga. And I'd like to add walking in there as well, now that my feet are doing better, and if that makes them worse, start doing both yoga and biking each day other than Sunday. Think that isn't too ambitious?

I set three alarms, but even so, I woke up at 5 minutes till 8, about an hour after I normally do. I almost made the bus that comes after mine, which would have made me just 15 minutes late, but didn't, so I'll get to work about 9:15. I'm supposed to be there at 8:30. I usually get there about 8:15 and hang around for a bit before clocking in. I've called both managers, talked to one, and that's about all I can do until it's time to head out for the next bus.

It's the last day of the pay period, so I'll have to take that 45 minutes as PTO unless I can stay longer. I have so much to do today, for both jobs. But there's nothing I can do till I get there, I guess.

But the laundry is finished, so I can cross that off my list, and I am going to bed. That's four loads/one large hamper in a granny cart (thank goodness for that cart--I hate toting laundry to another building, and it makes it easier.) Putting away will wait for later. Everything's folded with tomorrow's outfit on top. I'm glad everything dried well--I only had eight dollars in quarters.

"After confessing to shaking the 6-week-old victim, the subject was arrested and charged with assault 1st-degree," the arrest citation, dated Aug. 24, reads. "The victim is currently at UK medical center in critical condition with four broken ribs, subdural hemorrhages in the skull and both eyes have hemorrhages. If the child lives, it will probably have some degree of brain damage."

Deputies conducted an investigation, and determined that the baby had been left with the mother's boyfriend's brother early on Saturday. The mother and her boyfriend told the boyfriend's brother that her other child had been critically hurt in a motorcycle accident and was in the hospital in Tennessee, and they needed him to watch the baby.

It was determined that the child had not been hurt, and that the mother and boyfriend had in fact been partying for 2 days. The boyfriend's brother had no experience in caring for a newborn infant baby.

Deputies located the mother and her boyfriend later in the night driving in the vicinity. The boyfriend ,Johnathon L Haynes, 32, was arrested and charged with DUI, and several other traffic offenses. Also taken into custody was the mother of the baby, Rachel E. Kilburn, 29, of Cutshin, Ky.

I find it inconceivable that anyone would treat a tiny baby this way, and it's sad that so often those who make horrible parents have no trouble conceiving, while those who want a child desperately cannot. And it takes a sick individual to shake a child near to death. Oh, it just sickens me. And none of these adults were young kids themselves, but rather in their late 20s to early 30s. Who parties for two days at that age, especially with small children???

So I'm actually doing four loads of laundry right now, since I'm not mega-sleepy and I figure I'll be finished by about 1 am. It was probably easier than staying in bed and getting up at 5 am to do it. I am looking forward to clean clothes, as I was getting down to things that did not belong in 90 degree heat or colours I don't normally wear.

It's technically my night to go out and give a libation, but I have no wine and very little oil or honey. I'm afraid my period came a bit early and so I wan't prepared. I do still have the mead; it might suffice. Red wine is better, but honey wine might work.

I need to call the pharmacy tomorrow and check to see if they can get me more of my Novolog; I'm on my last pen. This time the doctor put in a prescription for two boxes rather than one, so I shouldn't be in danger of running out after this.

You may notice a few somewhat extraneous things are missing from the sidebar. YKWIA complained about the load time for the blog, so I'm trying to pare things down a bit. I need to go through the links on the blogroll; some are no doubt broken.

I think I'll check the news and see what's going on in the world. If I don't write again tonight, have a wonderful night.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Tuesday I went to the ophthalmologist and had a field of vision and pressure check. As far as the former goes, I'd rather have a blood stick than that, to be honest, but it came out fine. The pressure is still holding the same as last time, a bit high but not so high that I have to have eye drops or anything. And so, it turned out pretty well. I was really busy at work and came home and did some stuff around the house but basically petered out before I could really sit down and write. But then I wound up talking on the phone for in the wee hours of the morning for over two hours.

Fortunately I was able to sleep in a bit the next day, though, as I had taken off work to celebrate a birthday with friends. I got up, went to the bank, grabbed a couple of egg and cheese biscuits, and headed to their house. We went to Masala, the Indian restaurant over by Fayette Mall, which was very good and priced very reasonably. As far as taste I thought it much better than what I had at Tandoor a few weeks ago. The mirrors were a little disconcerting; it was like being in a hall of them, and difficult to determine reflection from reality. But the food was good, the service was attentive, and it was nice to visit and have a meal and conversation. Afterwards we went to the mall to catch the bus back, and did a little shopping along the way. We went back to their house and I visited and helped make two derby pies. I got home a little after 11. I didn't get to sleep though, till about 1 am. So I'm tired tonight and seriously considering a nap, although that laundry is not getting any done on its own, and I wound up wearing velvet pants in 90-degree heat. It wasn't so bad this morning, but I'm thankful I got a ride this afternoon.

Now I'm home; I've watered my purple pepper plant, eaten a little, and like I said, the bed calls to me.

I'm still playing catch-up at work, and I hope I can get everything together tomorrow, as I am off Tuesday, making for a four-day weekend. :) Here are a few things I want to get done at home between now and Wednesday:

Do the laundry, of course

Take my aquarium hood to Animal House, a pet store, where they're going to check my starter and ballast, both of which are cheaper to replace than the whole assembly. [Had to put that off till later; they were closed on Tuesday when I was going to go.]

Work on those CDs I pulled out the other day and put them in some semblance of order

Straighten up just a bit in the living and dining areas

Take out the trash and recyclables

Check to see if Brenda has any conflicts due to the holiday with playing the game

Do the game notes regardless

Game

Start back with yoga

Watch a DVD I have out, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Get some information about some jobs at work to one of the people I talk to on the bus

Watch the premiere of series 7 of Doctor Who

Get some of my library books read

That's all I can think of for now. I think it's doable. :) Okay, I really am going to go take that nap, but set different alarms to make sure I don't sleep through the rooster one on my phone.

Monday, August 27, 2012

What I'm actually trying to find is a particular song of Pat Benetar's, which is unfortunately not on the Greatest Hits album I just got (Amazon's got a great sale on Mp3 albums for $5 apiece. Since I had a dollar credit, I got it for $4. And it really does have a great selection of songs on it.)

And it turns out I could neither remember what the album I was looking for was, nor could I find the CD itself. So where does one turn in a situation? Wikipedia, where I was able to recognise the album name from the discography (Innamorata), and the song, 'Dirty Little Secrets'. Here's a live performance of it:

Sunday, August 26, 2012

so I got home about 7:30 pm, and immediately laid down. I'd been up since 4:30 am, cleaned house, gorged myself on healthy snacks (veggies, almonds, and string cheese, grapes, although as usual I had too much of the latter two. I'm up very briefly because I woke up in pain (it was time for my foot medicine and also my long-acting insulin, so I got up and took those, got a little water, and tested my blood sugar, which was actually quite good. I had taken my other long-acting insulin shot at the bus stop early this morning, taken the short-acting throughout the day, and also took several supplements I've had around the house that are supposed to help with sugar metabolism and diabetes. Since the insulin alone isn't quite doing it, and my doctor seems to think that we should push it up every few months and that's sufficient, I thought this might be an alternative, although I'm a) going to tell him I'm taking them and b) keep a very close eye on my blood sugar. The supplements are things like: cinnamon, fenugreek, alpha liproic acid, B12, and CoQ10. I got them last year but never regularly took them (some are very large). I'm not a big supplement fan--I think some it of it hooey and others just pass through the system. But these are either designed to disintegrate or are powder inside thing glycerine capsules. The plan is to eat the cinnamon with yoghurt and take everything else, at least for a few days, and see if that helps.

What has been helping is my vitamin D supplement. My energy has been much better since he upped my dose. I'm on 50,000 IUs a week now, after a week of it daily. That I do for six more weeks, and then go back to my regular 1,000 IUs a day. But I'm not just coming home and collapsing out of abnormal fatigue like I was.

Even so, things came too early for me to be particularly productive in the newly-found free time. I'm going back to bed and getting up early to do some chores before work (or at least that's the idea). Hopefully the pain reliever I took and the foot medicine will help with the aching and pain I've got going.

I've dealt with chronic pain every since my knees started bothering me in high school. Then in my twenties I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia (or as my friends facaetiously call it, fibrous migraines). I have osteoarthritis in several areas. So I can't say I've been pain free for much of my life. But you learn to deal, of course. But it's getting worse as I've gotten older, and my weight is by no means helping. I know my joints and feet would feel so much better if I lost weight. I've been eating healthier for some time now, but if anything I've gained (a side effect of the insulin, unfortunately), and that's been frustrating. Exercise may be the best thing I can put into the mix, although I hate to say it, it has to be the right kind of exercise that doesn't hurt too much, so walking, which is ideal normally may be out. The pool is closing after next weekend, and I never seemed to really feel like getting in, no matter how much I like water. I think it's really because I'm embarrassed by my weight. So I guess the exercise bike is my best bet, although even my knees protest that. But they're just going to have to get over it to eventually feel better. I've tried to make small changes and make them habit, and I've done pretty well, but the exercise thing has been a void. That's going to have to change. I'm going to have to change.

By the way, YKWIA and I have been discussing Time Lord regenerations lately. Originally there were to be twelve,for a total of thirteen incarnations. We're on eleven. How long could Doctor Who last? Well, there are apparently changes throughout the series that would allow them to extend it without breaking continuity. There's an interesting article on regenerations at Wikipedia that discusses this in detail.

Friday, August 24, 2012

I've been remarkably productive and with it. You see, unlike my normal long 'naps', last night I got at most about five hours of sleep. I worked yesterday, got off at 5, took the bus to the Liquor Barn for some sherry for a friend, went to Incredipet and got an aquarium bulb for me, and then made a rather extensive (for me) Kroger run, about half of which was for me and half was for someone else. I put part of it in a rolling carry-on bag. I was fortunate to get the bus right after I got to the stop--it's iffy in the evenings because they run every 70 minutes. That was about 7:15. I got to my friend's house about 8:30 (have I mentioned that by car it's a 15-minute drive at most?) The buses were full to the hilt--the one I took to the house had five people standing most of the way. I was rewarded for my efforts by a wonderful dinner of matzoh ball soup, a salad, and a pasta dish that was very, very good but filling, so I took part of it with me and had it for lunch today.

I left the house about 10:30, on the last bus out that you could transfer to another route. At the bus stop there was this giant spider web and an orb spider that was (literally) two to two and a half inches, counting the legs. I love spiders, have no trouble with them, but it freaked me out a bit. The wind blew the web loose and it was spinning right behind me. I like bugs, but I don't care for them jumping on me, and that was a concern. There was a bat flying around as well. It definitely seemed to be the time for the spookier of nature's creatures.

I got the last bus of the night and it was extremely crowded too. Mind you, I'm sitting in a seat with a rolling bag, and now two Kroger bags (it was several more), including a two-foot long light bulb. Fortunately the purse hung easily on the handle of the rolling bag, as did the Kroger bags, so everything compacted as well as I could. Thank the Gods I didn't try to go out with my granny cart. It is so much bigger.

But once I got home, I couldn't relax enough to go to sleep. I wanted to blog, but was too tired. All I managed to do was rub some spearmint-eucalyptus lotion on my sore feet, elevate them on a pillow on the bed, with the fan right on it. I managed to get to a point where my back was relatively happy. But I still couldn't fall asleep. I think I finally fell to sleep about 2 am.

So this morning it was a little hard to roll out of bed, but I managed, and even got to work at my usual early time. I worked the referrals, did my library work, and put in my data entry sheets.

Now I'm home, I've eaten (well partway; I had some chili and am making some corn on the cob, but I haven't eaten it yet). I don't feel particularly sleepy. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my evening, and I don't have firm plans for tomorrow either. I'm hoping to fill things up with a couple of errands, some chores, the farmer's market, the library, DVDs, and reading. We'll see what I manage to do. :)

Okay, I'm going to go check and see if the corn is done. Sorry I didn't write yesterday; I was just too wiped to even try. I even thought about doing it in bed on the tablet, but even that was too much effort. Fortunately today I feel much better.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

So they filled in the pond I loved so much in front of the old Lexington Mall. No more ducks and geese to see out my window on my bus ride in the morning. That always helped make my day a little brighter. I'm not particularly happy with the megachurch (Southland Christian Church)that graveled it in. It doesn't seem right to gravel in nature in the name of God. :( While it's good that the old mall isn't just falling down anymore, I don't think God's work is magnified by big box church satellites that look, well, like malls. Want architecture to the glory of God? Look a Chartres, or Notre Dame. They did it right, and probably didn't sully creation to do it.

Oh, and they tore down Perkins, may it RIP. It's just a parking lot now. I spent many a late night there eating breakfast with friends. It was one of the few places open so late for years.

But the gravel in the pond with the big fence and black plastic around it? No, that's just an abomination. And anyone who argues that the reservoir is still across the street for the wildlife just doesn't get it.

Monday, August 20, 2012

It was a very busy weekend. Saturday I did yard work and watched many episodes of 'The Nanny' while visiting friends. Yesterday I was up and going from 6:30 am till sometime after 1 am. I got home about 12:30. I cleaned house as per normal. We did a huge grocery run (I thought the bagger was going to have to add a third cart to the mix just to get it out of the store, but he did alright). We played the game till about midnight, and then I talked on the phone with the game master for a short time. I think I was asleep within five minutes after hitting the pillow. I got a little over five hours' sleep, which is shorter than some of my 'naps'.

So, the plan tonight is to set the DVR for Grimm and head on to bed. If I wake up later, fine. If not, and I sleep the whole night, that's fine, too. I'll turn up the phone in case anyone calls. But I have got to get some rest. Also, I took two naproxen tablets but the headache isn't abating. Perhaps sleeping will help. I've watered the pepper outside and the inside plants, eaten just a little (trust me, I ate enough yesterday, even though it was healthy stuff like veggies, strawberries, and cheese; it's been years since there was chocolate).

Despite feeling somewhat wrung out all today, I got a fair amount of stuff accomplished, especially on the data entry front. Then I caught the bus and stopped by the library to return a book. Now I've eaten, and I'm gravitating towards sleep. I wish there were more three-day weekends out there so we could recover from Saturday and Sunday better. At least one's coming up. Also, Tuesday I'll be in the ophthalmologist's office for much of the morning, and then Wednesday I'm taking off to celebrate a friend's birthday. Which reminds me, I'd better think of a good present.....

Friday, August 17, 2012

(50,000 IUs), I've felt a lot more energetic. I supposed to take it for a week, then one capsule per week for eight weeks, and then revert to my 1,000 IUs a day norm. That said, I do think I will take a small nap tonight, as it's been a long week. I then need to get up, take out the recyclables I cleaned out from under the kitchen sink the other day, and do the game notes.

Tomorrow I'm sawing down a small tree. In general I hate harming trees, but this is a maple growing at 45 degree angle and will neither flourish nor grow in any way that would be helpful, and it's out in the middle of my friends' yard. It's about three or four inches at the base, so best to get it now.

The good news is that I was going to be delayed by running an errand at a store that didn't open till later, but I called ahead and they didn't have what I needed. So I can just skip that. I am to bring a few items from the grocery, but I can stop by Kroger on Euclid and cut some time out of my trip (Richmond Road's bus runs every 70 minutes on Saturdays, whereas the Tates Creek one, which runs past that Kroger, runs every 35.) Since I'm going to Kroger, I won't go to the farmer's market this time, as I wouldn't be able to explain that the watermelon I plan to buy is from there and not the store. Things are much easier when you have a car, I think.

Speaking of the car, I'm dreaming of that RAV4 they're giving away in that drawing I'm entered in. I know it probably has no bearing on things, but I keep finding lucky pennies when I'm out and about. Maybe some of that luck will rub off and I'll win the car. Granted, I'll have to come up with the money for insurance, taxes, and delivery, but there are a couple routes I might be able to go on that if I were to win. In the meantime, it doesn't hurt to dream. I have four friends now who are without a car. It would be really nice to be able to help them out. So if I won, a total of five people would win. :)

I found this (empty) satchel-style bag from Nine West on my desk today when I came in today. I have no idea who left it there. They also left a keyring with a little stuffed handbag on it as well. Although I am rather blasé about women's shoes, I love handbags. This one is long but not particularly tall and carries all the essentials (medicine, wallet, tablet (Kindle as well, if I pack right), bus pass, and diabetes supplies). As you may recall some time ago two wallets appeared on my desk as well. I assume this is from the same person. Thank you whoever you are.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Indeed.com searches all sorts of jobs boards and e-mails you alerts when it finds the ones that meet your parameters. I wish I'd known about it when I was looking for a job for a friend, but turns out he found it himself in of all places the print classifieds in the newspaper.

I don't know if we're any closer to the hospital move (there are a LOT of details to work out still, as far as I know), but I do know my position isn't going, so I can't sit around for the next couple of years and pretend otherwise. If you see a library job in the area (no, I don't want to leave the Bluegrass; I have too many ties here), please let me know.

I guess the basics are the same (I do not pretend to know anything about investing or the stock market), but things have changed a bit over time, too. I'm not sure many people under 35 even know what ticker tape is. :)

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

I actually spent 15 minutes on the exercise bike, I watched my carbs really closely today, or my doctor upped my Vitamin D supplement to 50,000 IU for a short time, but I've been awake, productive, and just felt much better than normal. Now it's nearly 11:30 and I'm just getting sleepy. We'll see if I can keep this up over the next few days. :)

PS I just measured myself and even though I've lost something like a net 4 lbs in the last month or two, I've lost 2 inches to my waist. That's good. I haven't been dieting to this point, but I've been watching my eating more carefully. The last couple of weeks I've been tracking various things like eating and exercise on SparkPeople.com, which not only tracks things, it's got some good motivation ideas and suggestions, message boards, social networking, the whole nine yards. If you're interested in making healthy changes, it looks promising. Also, it handles the fact that I'm a vegetarian (well, pescetarian, as I do eat fish) diabetic pretty well.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

The super-duper lab test that they did in January and July was the main topic of our conversation, as it showed a much lower risk of my dying from a heart attack or stroke, all the various iterations of cholesterol are wonderful, my renal function is great, my A1c dropped quite a bit, etc., etc. The only things that were still in the red (the results are nicely colour-coded) were some values indicating I don't exercise enough, or at least would go down if I did, and of course the diabetes-related scores are not yet in the normal range. He adjusted my insulin a bit and we're going to meet again for a diabetes check in three months and get that test series done again in January. But overall it was a great appointment, and I was at work by 11 am, so it took slightly over an hour total.

So, what's next? Well, exercise for one. I think it's time to pull out the exercise bike. I'm getting plenty of protein in my diet but should try to cut out some of the fat, keep it about 20% daily. And of course, I should take my meds exactly as I should, so no forgetting my nightly or morning shot of the long-acting insulin, for example. I'm beginning to feel like I can actually get some control over this disease. Wish me luck!

It was Child — not single-handedly, but close — who started the public conversation about cooking in America that has shaped our cuisine and culture ever since. Her “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” was published in 1961, just as trends including feminism, food technology and fast food seemed ready to wipe out home cooking. But with her energy, intelligence and nearly deranged enthusiasm, Child turned that tide.

Today, in an age of round-the-clock food television and three-ingredient recipes, her book strikes many cooks the way it does the writer Lisa Birnbach, who told me: “Here’s the thing about Julia Child and me. While she has been a figure in my life for a long time, I have never actually used her cookbook.”

Indeed, it can be daunting. Not only are many recipes long and detailed, but they often call for ingredients that are no longer easy to find, like ground thyme and frying chickens, and equipment like ramekins and asbestos mats. Her insistence that tomatoes be peeled, chickens trussed and eggs beaten with a fork, not a whisk (all elements of the professional training she imbibed) now seems needlessly persnickety.

But in its fundamental qualities, the book and its many successors in the Child canon aren’t dated at all. Their recipes remain perfectly written and rock-solid reliable. And many home cooks, including me, have a Julia Child recipe or two that will always be a part of their repertory. They are recipes that, unlike her cassoulet, come together in minutes, not days.

Because I had a doctor's appointment later than I go to work but not late enough that there was any reason to go in to work and then leave, especially with the time it takes on the bus. I'm at the appointment right now. I've been weighed, my vitals taken, and now I am in a room waiting for the doctor, which given that he's the only one in the practice could take awhile, but it's an early appointment, so hopefully not.

I am sorry I didn't write yesterday. I'm afraid I just got too tired by nine, so I set Grimm to record and went on to bed. It had been a long weekend, after all, even without the game.

I started my workweek out getting pooped on by a bird. No less than three people have told me this is supposed to be good luck. The good thing was that it was not on my head or clothing. I wiped it off my arm with grass and then washed my arm thoroughly when I got to work.

After that the day improved greatly. I got a lot of things accomplished. The weather was pleasant. I got a ride from work to the bank, ate at Texas Roadhouse (I've been craving salmon), and then stopped by the Eagle Creek library, which had reopened after two weeks of renovations (which seemed to involve shelving, mostly). I had felt really well all day, but as the rain approached, I started aching. I also spoke with a friend on the phone for awhile. Then I set the recorder and went to bed, taking some naproxen.

Okay, that's it for now. I'll write later today. Have a great day! :-)

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Where dips the rocky highland
Of Sleuth Wood in the lake
There lies a leafy island
Where flapping herons wake
The drowsy water-rats
There we've hid our faery vats
Full of berries
And of reddest stolen cherries

CHORUS

Come away, O human child
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand
For the world's more full of weeping
Than you can understand.

Where the wave of moonlight glosses
The dim grey sands with light
By far off furthest Rosses
We foot it all the night
Weaving olden dances
Mingling hands and mingling glances
Till the moon has taken flight
To and fro we leap
And chase the frothy bubbles
Whilst the world is full of troubles
And is anxious in its sleep.

CHORUS

Where the wandering water gushes
From the hills above Glen-Car
In pools among the rushes
That scarce could bathe a star
We seek for slumbering trout
And whispering in their ears
Give them unquiet dreams
Leaning softly out
From ferns that drop their tears
Over the young streams

CHORUS

Away with us he's going
The solemn-eyed
He'll hear no more the lowing
Of the calves on the warm hillside
Or the kettle on the hob
Sing peace into his breast
Or see the brown mice bob
Round and round the oatmeal chest.

For he comes, the human child
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand
For the world's more full of weeping
Than you can understand.

I took a bath in brown sugar and vanilla-scented bubble bath, used some jasmine-vanilla lotion after that, and put a clay masque on my face and laid down on the bed in front of a gentle fan. After a few minutes I rinsed off the clay and my face feels wonderful, I'm all happy with a vanilla scent and my aches are gone as is all the dirt from getting under bushes and trimming limbs.

Now to listen to some relaxing music and head on to bed, after hydrating a little. Have a good night.

Took a gym bag full of plastic grocery bags to friends who have pets who poop, necessitating plastic bags for cleanup, discovering recylables to be taken out under the sink in the process.

Cleaned my friends' house from top to bottom, including window casings and upholstery.

Lopped off branches, mostly dead, from the shrubbery on the fencerow.

Helped with a project.

Took the bus back, which took almost two hours instead of the normal 1 1/2 to get home. There was a horrible pileup at Man O'War and Blazer Parkway involving at least five cars and possibly a motorcycle. One car was badly mangled; another had its wheel off the axle. I do hope no one was hurt. There were many fire engines and police, although no one was directing traffic on our side, and when we went to detour it took awhile to get onto Man O'War (we were supposed to continue straight to Blazer Parkway, but that was not going to happen with two fire trucks and a bunch of cars in the way. Once I got off the bus, I walked home, and it feels great to be here.

Called my friend to let him know I'm home. I rather enjoyed all the work today, even the lopping, although I think I'll take a shower to get the specks and bits of wood and who knows what else off me.

Turned the air conditioning back on.

Ate tomatoes, tortillas and cheese, two bananas, and one half of a baby watermelon with juicy yellow flesh which is really yummy. I'm going to save the seeds for Brenda.

What I didn't do was play the game, as Brenda is recovering from Pennsic (the great annual 'war' in the Society for Creative Anachronism). It will be good to be back in the swing of things next week, but it was kind of nice to take a break. I do have to have the game notes finished by next Sunday, however.

Now for a shower (or maybe a bath), some 'me' time, some reading, and then finally bed. I'll take those recyclables out tomorrow morning. I'm just too pooped to do much in the way of work this evening. I have, in my friend's words, plotzed, in the sense of collapsing from exhaustion, rather than from emotion, or alternatively, pooping (as in, 'I laughed so hard I nearly plotzed'.) I love Yiddish--so many meanings.

Okay, on to the bathing part. I may write some more, but if not, have a good night. I have had a very busy and productive weekend, but it went really well. I hope yours did, too.

It is the only picture I have of myself with my beloved dog, Cerys. It seems so inconceivable that it's been almost five years since she passed. I still miss her. This was taken in 2001, at Yule (hence the ribbon), when she was about 10 years old. She'd started greying around the muzzle. She was a wonderful companion. It took me a full two years to get where I would sleep in the middle of the bed rather than on the side. Wherever you may be, my Cer-Bear, I love you.

(And yes, it isn't a great picture of me; I look huge. But it's a great reminder.)

Saturday, August 11, 2012

I have uncovered my dresser and the chest-of-drawers, dusted everything, put away the laundry, put the dirty laundry in the hamper, and thrown away quite a bit. One thing that made me a little sad is I found some boxes of cards. One was from the work of Michelangelo. The other was of orchids. Both were from Bobby McQueen, who loved orchids and grew them quite well. He died at the end of June, and I find that even though we were not close, I find little things that remind me of him, like this.

I also washed the hand-wash dishes and put the clean ones away. I just noticed there's some water in the bottom of my dishwasher. I tried to clean the filter but to no avail. I guess I'll be calling maintenance this Monday. I also ran the garbage disposal to see if that was the problem, but there was no change.

I've filled the ice trays up so I'll have plenty of that. I cleaned the refrigerator out earlier when I took the garbage out. So I've been pretty productive. I've also gone through some old tapes I have.

It's a little too late for a movie, I think, but I'm listening to Pandora, a channel built around Loreena McKennitt, and that's pretty soothing. There's some incense burning (lavender) and the windows are still open. It's a little stuffier without the air conditioning on, but I'm taking advantage of the beautiful temperatures.

Also, I picked my first pepper off my plant. It's not huge, but it hasn't changed size since I got the plant, so I went ahead and got it. There's another that's already half that size. The plan is to have that with squash, zucchini, onions, and tomatoes tomorrow. I don't feel like really eating dinner tonight; I'm still okay from the Indian buffet earlier.

Okay, I think I'm going to call a friend and make sure we're not playing the game tomorrow and then curl up with a book (or a Kindle) for awhile.

I had a nice nap, of course a little longer than I planned. I ate a few tomatoes and got something to drink. What's next?

Hmmm...I think it's time to water the plants. The lavender looks a bit droopy. The pepper outside looks good but could stand to have some, too. Drat, that means I have to change into real clothes and out of my nightshirt. Nevermind that it shows less than my shorts. :) I think I'll open the windows, too. It's just 76 degrees.

Then there's the things to tackle in the bedroom, putting away laundry (yes, I've been living out of a hamper for a week, and that's got to stop. Besides, I have clothes to put in the hamper.) I'll do that after I water the plants.

[Oh, and on the subject of that day's stirp, Myfanwy does NOT rhyme with Tiffany. The 'f' is a 'v', the second syllable is stressed, and it ends in a 'wi' sound. Don't know where they got that from. Someone should have gone to http://www.pronouncenames.com. It seems to be accurate, at least for the few Welsh names (Myfanwy being one) I put through it (including my own, Eilir, with is 'A Leer' not 'I Leer', something I didn't know for years after changing my name, until I got with a bunch of guys online whose parents gave them that name and who were actually Welsh. I was quite embarrassed. That's what I get from trying to learn Welsh out of a book. Yes, Eilir also a boy's name, even though the name means 'butterfly' and is pretty. Many Welsh boy names are pretty. Many Welsh girl names are not, Myfanwy and Bronwyn being notable exceptions.) :)]

Gave blood. The folks at the Andover blood centre are super great and professional; I had no problems. So now someone can have some blood, and I'm entered for the Toyota Rav4 drawing. :) I did forgo the shirt; they can save it for someone else.

Ate a nice meal at the buffet at Tandoor, an Indian restaurant near the blood centre.

Took the bus to Mist Lake Plaza, off Richmond Road.

Got my hair cut. (Not the wowing kind, but it was only $8 before the tip--they were running a special--and my bangs are out of my face. Plus, after two years, I finally got my card for a free haircut filled.

Took the bus back to my home stop [after waiting while a woman hogged the only two seats at the stop and smoked clove cigarettes and spit repeatedly--ugh!] near the Eagle Creek Library (which is still closed until Monday for renovations. It's been that way since 7/31. I have a list of books I want to place on hold to have delivered there, but I can't until things return to normal because all holds that normally go to Eagle Creek are going to Tates Creek, which is a pain to get to on the bus:

Map of Time

Thieftaker

The Magicians and Mrs. Quent

Walked home.

So now I'm drinking something and considering taking some naproxen (which I held off on for the last few days because I planned on donating blood), because my foot and ankle are really hurting, and just taking a nap.

but their treatment sickens me, and it's a culture-wide problem that needs to be addressed. Sold to her husband, essentially, prior to the age of consent for marriage, she was forced to work for the family, drugged and used when she refused to have sex with her husband, and beaten and tortured by the family.

Frustrated that the girl could not perform the housework they expected, the family put her in the cellar, where she slept on the floor without a mattress, her hands and feet tied with rope. She was given only bread and water to eat. She was also beaten regularly. According to Sahar Gul and Ms. Daqiq, most of the beatings were at the hand of Amanullah, Ghulam Sakhi’s elderly father.

They described grotesque crimes, accusing Amanullah of hitting Sahar Gul with sticks, biting her chest, inserting hot irons in her ears and vagina, and pulling out two fingernails.

“She was helpless,” Ms. Daqiq said. “She had no hope for her life.”

Her husband and his brother are still at large. Her in-laws are in prison for the crimes, under a little-applied law that prohibits violence against women.

which is always a nice feeling, as it usually takes three alarms, one that sounds like a rooster, to get me up in the morning, and even that can be iffy (I slept through all three the other day. Fortunately I'm usually early to work, so I was just a few minutes late by taking the next bus).

I'd set the alarm for 8:30 but woke up about 7:50 or 8, so still slept in by about an hour. Since that time I have showered, had some spa time with a manicure set and jasmine-vanilla lotion, made the bed (the less likely it will be for me to take 'naps'!), fed the fish, checked my blood sugar, properly medicated (although the Claritin pill tried to escape to the nether regions below the computer desk), eaten breakfast (a banana and some low-fat Greek yoghurt), and have started my water consumption for the day (8 fl. oz. so far).

It's a lovely day, sunny and only 62 degrees at the moment--and it's only supposed to go to 78. That's great, considering July was so very hot.

Things I may do today (I'm not calling it an agenda, and I don't plan to do all of them, but perhaps some:

Go to the Farmer's Market by my house for tomatoes.

Get my hair cut.

Go to Kroger and get contact lens cleaner, deodorant, and toothpaste.

Eat somewhere nice.

Work on the top of my dresser and chest-of-drawers.

Put away the clothes in the hamper.

Watch Grimm in preparation for the new series.

Do game notes/charge the batteries for the voice recorder, just in case we play tomorrow.

Watch a movie (at home).

Go to the pool.

Take out the trash.

Do the few dishes I have.

Listen to music.

Read.

UPDATE: It was too cool for the pool, I think. It only got up to 76. I didn't watch anything, but got a lot accomplished. I've got a call in about the game. Otherwise, I think I'll just read and relax.

Friday, August 10, 2012

7 am seems like a long time ago. That's when I woke up. I had a good day at work (I found out I didn't need to get referrals for the second-most common insurance company I had on my queue--yay!) Then I went to the bank and then over to my friends' house to deliver a DVD and talk gardening. But I didn't get home until 10 pm and I am now ready for bed.

I have tomorrow to myself. I'm not going to bother with an agenda; the best laid plans tend to always screw up. But I'm going to try to have some fun. Oh, and get my hair cut. That's a big priority. My bangs are down to the end of my nose and making me crazy, or at least contributing. :)

Thursday, August 09, 2012

It's the Targus AKB33US Bluetooth keyboard. I'm using it to type this entry on my tablet. This is actually quite a nice little keyboard. You just have to remember that the backspace is in the upper right corner and is smaller than the delete key, which is right under it. Some people have complained about that, but really it's not hard to adjust.

So far it's staying connected with no problem. The first time you connect, you turn the Bluetooth on your device on, turn on the keyboard, press the connectivity button, and it 'discovers' the keyboard. You type in the numbers indicated on the screen, and then you're connected. After that, the device remembers the keyboard and you don't have to type in the numbers. Or at least that's how it works with an Android device.

The on/off switch is on the bottom of the keyboard and therefore it might be harder to remember to turn off the keyboard when finished. The keyboard takes two 'AAA' batteries. The ones that came with mine were Toys R' Us brand, which I thought funny. :)

What the keyboard didn't come with was any sort of guide, but I had already found that on the Targus website before I ordered, when I was trying to find out if it was compatible with my device. According to Targus, it is compatible with any Android device running Android OS version 2.3. It is also compatible with the iPad and several other types of tablets as well, so it's not just for Android tablets.

The feel to the tablet is pretty decent; it's easy to type on, and isn't too sensitive or not enough. I highly recommend it. And at $35 from Amazon (as opposed to the $60 I found elsewhere), it's much less than getting a laptop I do not really need.

Supposedly you can type from up to 30 feet away. I'm not sure why you would want to, but it's nice that it doesn't have to be right at the device to do anything.

It would have been nice to have some sort of case for it; fortunately I have something it will fit in. Some keyboards come with a stand for the tablet; this one doesn't, but then my cover for my tablet stands, so I didn't need one. So I'm pretty happy with my purchase.

I got an e-mail from the library saying they'd hired someone else, so today I'm just a bit bummed, having not even made it to an interview. But I'll keep looking, and in the meantime try to carry on with the job(s) I have. :)

And thank you, YKWIA, for being comforting, even though you weren't trying to, and you said you were just stating a fact by telling me that it was their loss. It really helped.

Snug Hollow Farm is a bed-and-breakfast near Irvine, but provides lunch and dinner with reservation. Meals are all vegetarian. Writes Barbara Napier, the owner/operator/cook:

The farm is 3oo acres of unspoiled beauty with deer, horses and wild turkeys. The house and cabin have great views of the mountains and horses. Except for birds and the wind, the hollow offers the sound of silence. There are fields of wildflowers and trails for hiking, the night sky (a million stars, the Milky Way and an occasional meteor shower), and the wildlife for entertainment. You’ll find board games, music and a good selection of books for all ages, also roaring fires in the fireplace. There is no TV. Seasons are spectacular and there’s no better place to enjoy them than from our large shady porches.

I have a Jack Russell, Hillary, who greets everyone as if they had come to see her.

Dinners are served around 7, and are by reservation and delicious. (I am the cook). We serve vegetarian fare with lots of our food grown right here on the farm. Sample menu: Homemade pizza, eggplant parmesan, breads, vegetable pot pie, macaroni & cheese. Homemade breads and desserts are also a plus. In winter we serve early “suppers” of soups, salads, homemade breads and desserts during the week. Our breakfasts are yummy and may consist of either oatmeal pancakes with gingered bananas, crunchy oatmeal-cornmeal waffles, smoked cheddar omelets, homemade biscuits & gravy, fresh fruit smoothies, coffee and tea.

It sounds like a wonderful place to become unplugged from the modern world and just spend a couple of days with one's own thoughts or good companionship.

I didn't want to jump to that conclusion, but of course it was my first thought when I heard that a Sikh temple had been targeting for a mass shooting, innocent people going about their activities in preparation for worship and a meal, attacked for being different. Whether the shooter did this because he hated those he perceived as 'other' or if he mistakenly, like many, believed Sikhism to be some off-shoot of Islam (which it isn't at all), I don't know. As he is dead, we may never really know. On the other hand, he will not harm anyone else again. Sadly, though, there are plenty of people like him out there. Fortunately the greater number of people are tolerant and supportive or diversity.

Thinking of those killed or injured, their families and friends, and the Sikh community itself, in this time of sorrow.

UPDATE: On the subject of hate crimes, I saw this while looking at other news:

About a month after the Joplin Islamic Society’s roof was damaged in a suspected arson, the entire building burned down in a suspicious early morning fire on Monday, leaving little but charred remains.

People sometimes stay there during Ramadan, which is going on right now. To lose a house of worship during a holy month must be even more bitter, but at least no one was hurt.

Two brain regions go on high alert when hoarders must decide whether to keep something they own or throw it away.

In a new study in Archives of General Psychiatry, brain images of those regions show that hoarders respond quite differently when making such decisions than people with obsessive compulsive disorder and people without any mental disorder.

"That brain network goes into hyperdrive, starts freaking out," says researcher David Tolin, PhD, a psychologist at the Institute of Living in Hartford, Conn. "The task seems to overload the network."

When it comes to their own possessions, says Tolin, the decision-making process for hoarders becomes very difficult, even painful, so they avoid it. And so, stuff keeps piling up.

"It's very common, and it can be very sad," he says

Even more interesting...

The brains of the hoarders showed little response when confronted with Tolin's credit card offers, Netflix coupons, and other junk. Asked about their own, similar belongings, the hoarders' brains -- specifically the anterior cingulate cortex and the insula -- both showed abnormal activity.

"The only real difference between the stuff was the name on the address label," says Tolin. "And the affected brain regions really flip flopped on the basis of ownership."

Tolin says those regions are known to play a big role in assigning importance and relevance to objects. For someone with arachnophobia, for example, seeing a spider would activate those areas in a big way. Hoarders have the same type of brain reaction, the study shows. Their brains assign undue importance and relevance to things that most people would consider junk.

To see everything from the entry to touchdown to the first image sent back after the Mars landing. It took me back to the old Apollo and Viking days of my youth, that same excitement. Congratulations, NASA, and thanks for the ride.

Sunday, August 05, 2012

Desk Set, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the meltdown the woman had who knew the computer (but didn't know anything about the information). Bunny's memory was wonderful, and while mine is not, I do tend to remember based on the association of numbers and dates. If only I could expand that to doing quick computations. I really wish I had my friend YKWIA's memory. That coupled by my knack for finding things and knowing how and where to look would make me a superlibrarian. :)

I think I'm going to head to bed and then get up to watch the NASA TV coverage of the Mars Curiosity landing. Good night.

I know my friend Tracy (who's on the Juno project to Jupiter), her husband Ted (who helped create the navigation system for the rover mission, according to the description on YouTube of the video below) and the other folks at NASA are going to hold their collective breath tonight. Here's wishing Curiosity great success.

Saturday, August 04, 2012

Celtic music, with a Pandora channel built around Loreena McKennitt, with the lights turned low and the holiday lights on instead, along with the cabinet and aquarium.

It was a good day. I went over to my friends' house and visited, helped with some projects, watched something like five episodes of Kim Possible and the other videos I've mentioned, and just spent time together with people who may not officially be family, but I consider them so. I left my apartment about 8 am and I got home about 8:30 pm, so it's been a long day. Tomorrow I'm going over to do the normal Sunday cleaning and help with a few things, but there's no game because Brenda is at Pennsic War with the Society for Creative Anachronism. I went in 1987 and it was quite an experience. I hope she has a great time and a safe trip.

Well, it's almost 11 and I'm starting to get sleepy. The beautiful music is so relaxing. I'm going to take Desk Set over tomorrow so one friend can see it again, and then watch it tomorrow night myself, so I can send it back on Monday. The buses only run till 8:20 on Sundays so I should be home by 9 at the latest.

YKWIA showed me another video today that was a deleted scene from Hairspray with Nikki Blonsky singing 'I Can Wait'. I couldn't find a high-quality video that didn't have subtitles or was not synched correctly. Not sure where the one he showed me was. But I did find a Nikki Blonsky tribute video that uses the song, and the music is high quality and really captures her voice well. Here it is:
Enjoy. I wish they hadn't deleted the scene from the movie; the song is really quite beautiful.

When I was an awkward high school student going through my parents' painful divorce, there was a boy in school named Jeff Gregory who called me 'Orez', which is 'Zero' spelled backwards. It was very painful at the time, and it took me awhile to realise he probably had his own issues and was just taking it out on me. I'm sure he's gotten a little more mature and hopefully caring since then. :) This is for him and for all those other people who have bolstered their own sense of worth at the expense of others they deem the bottom of the pecking order--and for those who think their lowly status will never change, and may time bring them love.

Friday, August 03, 2012

although I do move my bag if the seats are getting scarce and let someone sit down, then 50% of the time ignore them blankly. Still, I do chat with other riders on occasion and as the mood hits me. I would not survive in New York, and I would be quickly labelled a target, because I'm not inured to commuting to the point of ignoring all aspects of my fellow travellers. :) Of course, as the researcher points out, we don't really ignore them--we take great pains to appear to.

Kim found that the greatest unspoken rule of bus travel is that if other seats are available you shouldn't sit next to someone else. As the passengers claimed, "It makes you look weird." When all the rows are filled and more passengers are getting aboard the seated passengers initiate a performance to strategically avoid anyone sitting next to them.

One of my friends called me over something earlier and as we were saying goodbye, he said something to the extent of 'have fun, enjoy the movie (Desk Set), eat popcorn, paint your toenails, isn't that what women do when they watch a movie?'

Well, I haven't watched the movie yet, but I did enjoy in some old-fashioned girly nail painting. I won't post a picture here (proof of my lack of Friday night action), but it's a pretty pearlescent bluish-purple with a teal sheen, and I did both fingernails and toenails. I wear nail polish once in a blue moon, so this was fun. I tend to not like the 'feel' of painted nails, but ever since I stopped biting my nails as a kid, and once I got through my student days where lack of decent food made my nails break all the time (mine are still not particularly strong), and now that I'm no longer opening lots of boxes like I did at the gas station, I have pretty nails, and I might as well enjoy them. They've been growing fairly long, but I've been reining them in because if they get too long it's hard to type, put my contacts in, or use my tablet. :) I still don't understand how ladies do stuff with huge, long nails. There's a bus driver (or used to be) at LexTran, who used to drive the buses with these vinyl gloves on. It took me awhile to realise she had nails of doom and was protecting them. Again, don't get it, but hey, if it made her happy while dealing with the stresses of her job, okay.

I bought an application for Android through Amazon called Relax Melodies Premium, by Ipnos Software. I had tried the free version first and realy liked it. But when I opened the premium version on my tablet, it only had 36 sounds on it, much less than the 80-some-odd advertised.

Not to be deterred, I contacted Ipnos Software, and the tech support folks were really helpful. Turns out there was an update that fixed the problem that some devices were having, but it wasn't up on Amazon yet, so one of them sent me a link to the update that I could download and install from. I did so, and had instant success.

Then I noticed there were updates from Amazon. I thought oh, they updated their software there, so I went ahead and downloaded all the various application downloads listed. The Relax Melodies Premium is one of those that will totally uninstall before installing. So I hit yes, and then went into the application, and things were right back to how it used to be. Apparently since the versions didn't match, Amazon assumed there was an update needed. Argh!

So I uninstalled that and went to that link from before, but they had removed the file (which makes sense, as some people might just publicise it, as it was just something at Dropbox). Then I remembered that since I had actually downloaded the file, it should still be in downloads. I found it with my tablet's file manager, clicked on it, and yay, it re-installed without a problem and it's back to the way it should be. I'll just ignore any update requests until I'm sure it's a higher version.

Speaking of the tablet, I was thinking about a project I really need to work on that involves some word processing at another person's house. I had considered getting a laptop, but that seemed a bit excessive, as my desktop does well, my apartment is small so it's not like I have to have access in every room, and the tablet could theoretically do it--it's just the swiping of a virtual keyboard that is an issue. So, I looked around and all the keyboards I could find that connected to tablets with cables wouldn't work. But there are also Bluetooth keyboards. By reading reviews I found out that one I was considering wouldn't work because the Bluetooth version is higher than my tablet's. But I found one that should, and contacted the company, which said that as long as my Android version is high enough, all should do well. So I ordered it from Amazon and it should be here in a few days. Office Depot had it for about $60. Amazon had it for $35 and has an excellent return policy should it not work, and I checked and the seller who sells through Amazon and is fulfilling the order has the same policy regarding electronics. So, wish me luck. $35 is a tenth of what I would pay for a basic laptop, so I'm hoping it will connect and work well. We'll see.

Thursday, August 02, 2012

Books are in places. Bedroom is straightened. Incense is finished burning. I've showered and am all clean (the laundry room was very hot and humid, and I felt icky when I got back) and in a clean nightshirt. I think it's time to go to bed.

In a half hour my mom's birthday starts. Here's wishing her a happy 65th birthday! It doesn't seem possible--my mom is always in her mid 30s in my mind. Of course, I'm past that, too, so I guess the mental image of mom needs an update. But still, happy birthday to her!

I'm waiting for three loads of laundry (yes, gasp, I finally stopped talking about it and did it) to come out of the dryers. I've straightened up all the stuff I upended when I moved things around for the curio cabinet. My bedroom seems bigger, somehow. I've got some lavender incense burning and am listening to an old tape of Libana's 'A Circle is Cast'. The books have found a place that were on the dining table. The table separating the living and dining areas now contains my CD player, my library books, a few magazines I'm wanting to look at soon, and my backpack. In essence, it has become my 'landing area' when I come home so I'm not piling up my loveseat. So I've done pretty well tonight.

I came home an hour early, which helped, too. I was an hour ahead on my time at work, and I had planned on going to the blood centre, but it was awfully hot and humid and I'd have to walk part of the way, because the Woodhill bus only goes so far, so I decided to put that off until next week, when the humidity is supposed to be lower. My neck has been really bothering me towards the end of the day the last few days, and I haven't taken anything for it because I was planning on giving blood and just had naproxen and ibuprofen, and it's best if you don't take those before donating, because it affects who can have the blood and they have to mark it specially. I lucked out as a co-worker gave me a ride home, and the first thing I did when I got home was take the ibuprofen I had at home. And yes, I laid down for a bit, waking refreshed and without pain, and that is why I've been doing better. The ibuprofen is starting to wear off now, but I've gotten a lot done in the meantime.

I guess it was considered a 'life skill' in the 70s. And by goodness, I almost did it when I was walking to the bus stop Saturday and the car lot was playing it, right there in the middle of the sidewalk. We also learned square dancing and danced to a song that's called 'Glow Worm', which I can hear in my head but can't find on YouTube).

Wednesday, August 01, 2012

This is the cabinet itself. The globe is also pretty fragile, so I put it up top. I've since moved the dining table back into position, and I put my CD tower near the cabinet. Now my recyclable hamper is over by the bill sorter and inbox.

Okay, I've moved stuff enough for right now. Time to take a break and then tackle the bedroom and laundry. Thanks Brandon and Angenette for letting me get this from you.

About an hour ago one of my friends delivered a curio cabinet I had bought from him, and I've already filled it up with various things. It's about six feet high and one foot square, with four glass shelves, three of which are adjustable. We put it in the corner of my dining area, and it looks very nice. In addition to things such as the Chinese figurines my parents made, my South American-style ocarina head, the gargoyles, my kaleidoscope, the Bast cat figurines, a tea set from my great-grandmother's, etc., I am excited to finally have a place for my Japanese doll.

When I was a kid and my father came back from Vietnam, he brought a doll and doll case from Japan. It is of a woman arranging flowers. It is beautiful, and that case and doll went with us all over the country, but as it aged, it became more and more fragile. Finally, a few years ago, when the glass was barely fitting together into the wood, one of my cats jumped up on it and one panel broke. The others are intact, but again, very fragile. So I've kept the doll in closet for several years now (the cats are long gone).

So it was with much happiness that I discovered her mat and the doll itself would fit in the case. Her mat kind of blocks the light of the shelves underneath, but I experimented, and I really like it where it is.

I also now have room on the table that divides the living area from the dining one to put books on, which is very good And things aren't willy-nilly on bookshelves.

While I was rearranging, I finally took my pepper plant out to the front porch under my window. Brenda gave it to me about two weeks ago, and it has a lovely purple pepper on it. But it's starting to bloom, and so it needs pollination. I do hope no one runs off with it.